In a perfect food world, there would never be any cross contamination, surfaces would remain pristine, and everyone would religiously follow food safety rules. In the real world, however, nothing's perfect - including Jay Rayner. He confesses to some "unsavoury" habits in the kitchen, but he feels secure that he is in good company.

Rayner shares that while filming a cooking segment for television, he was not paying as much attention as he should have to the actual cooking, but instead worried about not breaking any kitchen sanitation rules such as licking the spoon or worse yet, his fingers. He notes that while people might be aghast at that happening with cooks on a television show or chefs in a commercial setting, most of us probably break these food safety rules (and more) at home. Rayner admits to double-dipping and finger licking in the comfort of his home kitchen, but feels that is just fine. "The fact is, home cooks are not the same as the people who get paid for it, and hooray for that."

I admit to flaunting food safety rules in the kitchen. I eat raw cookie dough and on occasion reuse a spoon when tasting a soup or stew. My theory on the latter is that the soup is happily bubbling away at a temperature well above anything needed to kill any germs (although I usually rinse the spoon anyway for good measure). The television show Mythbusters tackled the practice of "double dipping" a few years back so even though I don't do it when out, I don't get upset if I see someone else double dip. Do you have any bad habits at home in the kitchen?